Holmes Beach on Anna Maria Island

We went to the Cafe on the Beach to have a snack and then set up our beach camp. This is my favorite beach to visit on a weekday. It is hard to find parking on the weekends, and it's no wonder why. The water is clear and beautiful, and the sand is as soft as powdered sugar.

In case you haven't figured it out, all the Gulf Beaches are my favorite beach!

We had fun playing in the water. Alfonze snorkeled around and showed us some of the sea life he found.


Jason checks his sunset shots.


Three amigos Alfonze, Jason, and Erika watch the sunset and take photos.


This is the last sunset of our beach vacation. Boo-hoo!

Tide Out at Anna Maria Island

What a beautiful day at the beach. There were only a few people here today. We think it's because kids are back in school. We had no problem finding parking.

Sweet Spot of the Florida Summer

August is the sweet spot of summer on the Gulf coast. We were at Anna Maria Island riding waves today. The water at the beach is cooling slightly, making it feel so refreshing. There aren't as many tourists, and it's easier to find parking. I think I was in the water for an hour before I got out. Later on my arms and legs felt heavy from all the water play. I'll be sleeping good tonight.

Sunset at Cochina Beach on Anna Maria Island

The vivid sunset colors behind the darkened trees reminded me of Tiffany's stained glass windows.


After dark we looked up at the stars to try to find some of the constellations that we learned about at Bishop Planetarium earlier in the day.

Dolphins Playing Chicken

I saw dolphins at the beach on Anna Maria Island today. I thought I heard dolphin chatter a few minutes before I saw them. Suddenly there were 2 dolphins jumping in the air facing each other. They must have been playing chicken swimming directly towards each other under water.

Beach Wednesday - Riding Waves

Our move from Michigan to Florida took 4-5 years to accomplish. When things got difficult we'd come up with ideas of fun things we'd be able to do in Florida once we got there. One of those things is "Beach Wednesday." We dreamt of taking the day off work to go to the beach in the middle of the week. Whenever I was tired of cleaning up the house for showings I'd tell myself that I was getting closer to Beach Wednesday.

It took a few months of really hard work once in Florida before we were able to take a mid week break. Today is Wednesday and we went to the beach! We had fun riding the waves on boogie boards out on Anna Maria Island.